Mikko Kurttila

Utilizing the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) in SWOT analysis — a hybrid method and its application to a forest-certification case ☆

Abstract The present study examines a new hybrid method for improving the usability of SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis. A commonly used decision analysis method, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), and its eigenvalue calculation framework are integrated with SWOT analysis. AHP’s connection to SWOT yields analytically determined priorities for the factors included in SWOT analysis and makes them commensurable. The aim in applying the hybrid method is to improve the quantitative information basis of strategic planning processes. The hybrid method was tested in connection with a Finnish case study on forest certification. In the case study, the results were presented in an illustrative way by utilizing the quantitative information achieved by the hybrid method. The results indicated that certification could be a potential strategic alternative in our case study farm. In addition, the needed pairwise comparisons were found useful, because they force the decision maker to think over the weights of the factors and to analyze the situation more precisely and in more depth.

The use of value focused thinking and the A'WOT hybrid method in tourism management.

Abstract Strategic planning which focuses on rural tourism is based fundamentally on the adjusting to changes in the operational environment. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis is a commonly used tool for analysing both the internal and external environments in order to attain a systematic approach and support for a decision situation. In this study, we show how some weaknesses of SWOT analysis can be avoided and how it can be elaborated upon in order to provide more comprehensive decision support. The approach is applied to the question of does local culture have the potential to be a success factor in rural tourism in two case areas, namely in the regions of Yla-Savo in Finland and Kassel in Germany. The research was based on expert interviews, which were structured according to the principles of value-focused thinking and A’WOT analysis. A’WOT is a hybrid method combining the well-known SWOT analysis and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). In this study, SMART techniques are applied in an A’WOT framework instead of the AHP. The objectives and the operating environment, i.e. the two major elements in any strategic management, were covered in the analysis. The results showed that local culture has the potential to be a success factor in rural tourism, in other forms of rural entrepreneurship, and also in the case study regions. Investments which enhance and strengthen local culture are recommended over those that utilise culture and traditions to make products in tourism business. Strengthening local culture opens up possibilities for future innovations and sustainable development. A strong culture and an awareness of ones own traditions form a natural foundation for innovations. Value-focused thinking used as a methodology to define the values and objectives along with A’WOT for strategic planning, provide good means of enhancing sustainable innovations.

The spatial structure of forests in the optimization calculations of forest planning — a landscape ecological perspective

This article reviews an array of forest planning approaches where spatial objectives are taken into account in optimization. According to ecological arguments, factors at the level of landscape affect ecological processes and the abundance of species, as a result of which the related objectives, such as those that are quantitative, are also spatial. This article is concerned with the ability of the studies under review to respond to the ecological goals at the level of landscape, especially to the negative effects of habitat fragmentation. Three factors were included in the studies reviewed: reduction in the area of certain habitats, reduction in the size of habitat patches, and weakening connections between them. The fragmentation of habitats has been approached from a landscape perspective and also from that of species-specific habitat needs. Although optimization can become very complicated, it is technically possible to include spatial objectives in planning where several private forest owners are involved simultaneously.

A spatial yield model for optimizing the thinning regime of mixed stands of Pinus sylvestris and Picea abies

This paper presents a distance‐dependent yield model for a mixed stand of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) that accounts for the possible mixture effects...

Combining holding-level economic goals with spatial landscape-level goals in the planning of multiple ownership forestry

In Finland, management of biological diversity at the landscape level is complicated by the relatively small size of the holdings. To alleviate this problem, this study presents a hierarchical planning model that aims at combining spatial landscape-level ecological goals with holding-level owner-specific goals. The influence of ecological objectives extends across holding borders, but their impact is greatest in areas where they are least in conflict with the owners’ goals. This feature, which results in minimum losses to individual landowners, can be called ecological efficiency. In the case study, the ecological objective was to cluster the breeding and foraging areas of flying squirrel (Pteromys volans). Other sets of objectives were related to individual holdings according to the various preferences of the forest owners. The forest plan produced by the presented planning model was compared with two other forest plans: 1) a combination of independent forest holding level plans, which were assumed to represent the outcome of the current planning tradition, and 2) an area-level plan, where the holding borders and holding-specific objectives were not taken into account. The same objective variables and objective weights were used in all plans. All the plans were produced for six planning areas (ranging from 404.6 to 984.9 ha) and 110 forest holdings (ranging from 0.6 to 449.8 ha) within these areas. The case-study results were promising: with the model presented here, the spatial structure of flying squirrel breeding and foraging areas could be improved with only minor losses in holding-level objectives. The spatial structure of the landscape after the 60-year planning period was very close to the area-level plan. This outcome was made possible by synchronizing the treatment proposals across forest-holding borders. The outcome of the model seems promising also from the practical standpoint: because the variation in the objectives of forest owners is efficiently taken into account in optimization, only rarely do the solutions suggest that the holding-level targets be compromised.

Non-industrial private forest owners' attitudes towards the operational environment of forestry -- a multinominal logit model analysis

Abstract The aim of the present study was to relate the attitudes, characteristics and forest management decisions of private forest owners to concepts of strategic management, and by this means, to achieve support for the use of common strategic management approaches in forestry. Non-industrial private forest (NIPF) owners’ forestry business units (BUs) were grouped into four strategic groups (Stars, Cash cows, Wildcats and Dogs), according to the McKinseys matrix. This grouping was based on the forest owners’ attitudes towards the internal and external operational environments of forestry. Then, the groups were identified by means of a multinominal logit modeling approach that used forest-owner and forest-holding characteristics as explanatory variables. The differences in forestry behavior between the strategic groups were analyzed. The modeling results showed that forest-owner and forest-holding characteristics were in a logical relationship to the basic definitions of the used strategic groups. The behavior of the strategic groups was in accordance with strategies suggested in the tenets of strategic management. The results of this study are supportive of more extensive utilization of common strategic management approaches in forestry. However, the characteristics that make the forest different from other factors of production may require some modifications to be made to these approaches.

Spatial harvest scheduling approach for areas involving multiple ownership

Abstract This study presents a practical harvest scheduling approach for multiple ownership planning. The approach has both spatial and non-spatial goals, namely, a spatial landscape-level goal to cluster ecologically valuable resources is considered simultaneously with timber production goals. Harvest scheduling is based on the location of the stand, on one hand, and on an economic variable depicting the cutting maturity of the stand, on the other hand. Proximity to valuable resources decreases the likelihood that the stand is cut. Therefore, harvests tend to be located outside potential resource clusters with small and isolated economically mature stands being cut first. In the application of the approach the landscape-level spatial objective was to cluster old forest stands (age⩾80) and simultaneously maintain a predefined cutting volume. A stands economic cutting maturity was measured with value increment percentage. In the top-down application of the approach the timber harvest target was specified only for the whole planning area. In the bottom-up application it was specified separately for individual holdings, aiming at promoting the acceptability of the plan. The presented approach was clearly able to cluster old forest patches. In the case study area, the mean size of old forest patches increased from 3.4 to 5.7 ha in 30 years in the top-down plan, and to 4.6 ha in the bottom-up plan. An application of the current planning practice (referred to as the reference plan) decreased the mean patch size to 2.9 ha. The presented approach is easy to apply in forest planning practice.

Reaching forest owners through their social networks in timber sales

Abstract This study maps forest owners’ communication relationships in timber sales in Finland. The study applies the concept of structural equivalence from social network analysis. The aim is to recognise the existing communication channels that forest owners have during their timber sales to be better able to reach different forest owners. The egocentric data were collected from Finnish forest owners via a mail questionnaire (n=1244, response rate 59.7%). After a multiple imputation of incomplete network data, 753 respondents were included in the analysis. The most typical network structures were identified through a TwoStep Cluster Analysis, yielding non-committed Forest Management Association (FMA)-members (34%), independent timber traders (27%), relationship builders (24%) and FMA-partners (15%). The FMA-partners have an exclusive connection with the FMA, whereas the connections of independent timber traders are directed towards the timber buyer. It is essential for both the FMAs and timber buying companies to maintain and develop these existing relationships with their committed customers. Relationship builders differ from the others by having the largest networks with both forestry professionals and peer forest owners. The results suggest that these active forest owners could be channels to reach passive forest owners.

Decreasing the fragmentation of old forests in landscapes involving multiple ownership in Finland: economic, social and ecological consequences

The management of biological diversity at the landscape level in Finland is complicated by the relatively small size of the holdings and the fact that the habitats of species do not necessarily follow the holding borders. Therefore, there is a great need to develop such forest-planning approaches that aim at solving the problems that some species have faced due to modern forestry, including the fragmentation of old forests. One way to deal with fragmentation is to aggregate old forests into larger patches, a goal that may be achieved by excluding some areas from forestry operations or by restricting the intensity of treatments. In a planning area under multiple ownership, the sizes, shapes and relative locations of set-aside areas are important, since they affect the social equity of the proposed forest plans. In this study, the effects of two conflicting goals, i.e. the improvement of old-forest patterns, and the equal participation of forest owners were studied in a privately owned forest area in Finland. This was made possible through the examination of the consequences of alternative strategies to delineate areas set aside. The two main results of the study were, first, that it is difficult to reach these goals simultaneously, and, second, the time interval relevant in the management planning of private forestry is quite short with respect to efforts to change landscape structure significantly. However, in real planning situations, it is important to specify the locations of forest holdings whose owners are willing to acknowledge biodiversity values above the level defined in the legislation. In addition, ecologically important areas should be located and connected to the above information. According to the results of this study, it seems that a compensation system would facilitate the restructuring of the forest landscapes towards an ecologically enhanced structure.

Defining the forest landowner’s utility–loss compensative subsidy level for a biodiversity object

New, cost efficient and voluntary biodiversity protection tools may require bidding price definition on part of the seller. Both the seller and the buyer can withdraw from negotiations if they find that the conditions of the protection contract are unacceptable. However, it can be very difficult for non-industrial, private landowners to define the bidding price demand for their biodiversity objects. The terms of the protection contract, the production possibilities of the forest holding, the forest owner’s multiple forest management goals and their substitutability, and the possible monetary subsidy paid for biodiversity protection should all be simultaneously taken into account when estimating the owner’s price demand for protecting the biodiversity object. This study strives to provide relief in resolving this problem by presenting an approach in which the landowner’s utility–loss compensative subsidy can be defined based on the owner’s forest-holding level utility function and the production possibilities of the holding. The properties of the approach are illustrated by four planning cases in which the length of the protection period (permanent or 20-year temporary protection) and the holding-level goals were varied. The utility functions of the cases were derived by selecting numeric goal variables for the goals, and by defining weights and sub-utility functions for these variables. Varying subsidies for protecting an old-growth spruce stand were included into the simulation of “No treatment” schedules for the examined stand, and the holding-level total utility was maximized for every price level. The utility–loss compensative subsidy was found when the holding-level total utility equaled the total utility achieved in the plan where the stand was regenerated. This subsidy, however, is not necessarily the exact price that the owner should ask from the buyer; all prices above the defined subsidy level will increase owner’s utility if the buyer accepts them. It was concluded that the presented approach provided consistent results in the four cases and that it thus offers valuable decision support for current biodiversity-protection programs.